Now for the class of 2013; the seniors. This class fell victim
to a coaching change, and because of that, it is relatively small and weak. Chris
Zaires and Richie Crowley have proven to be indispensable over the past three
years. However, Jeff Ryan, Francis Drolet, and Anthony Borelli have never
become reliable players, and accordingly have never been ingrained in the
lineup.
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| Chris Zaires '13 has shown flashes of excellence over the course of his Brown playing career. He needs to step it up and take on a leadership role in 2012-2013. Photo credit to brownbears.com, the Official Site of Brown Athletics |
Zaires has shown his immense talent at times
throughout his career, but will have to take on a leadership role this year and
pick up some of the offensive slack that Jack Maclellan left behind. The
coaching staff seems to have been puzzled over the years about whether to play
him on the wing or at center. In my opinion, he seems like a more natural
center, but in the past he’s had some good production coming from the wing. I
suppose there is no clear-cut answer to this problem; at least not yet.
Richie Crowley will have a mystery partner on the
second defense tandem, but he has always been quietly consistent. If
either Wahl or Robertson were to (God forbid) miss time due to injury or
ineligibility, I would have no reservations about plugging Crowley into the top
pairing. He is reliable and steady, though not very flashy.
Jeff Ryan and Francis Drolet have been given ample
chances to succeed over their three years at Brown, and have yet to truly take
advantage of their situations. Both players have looked promising during
spells, before completely fading into the background, and eventually onto the
“healthy scratches” list. They need to make the best of their last opportunity
to play college hockey, but with so much young talent coming up, it’s hard to
predict a place for them in the lineup. Still, they are good depth players to
have, and as we know all too well, depth is vital.
Anthony Borelli is a goalie. That’s about all I
know about him. He’s played in just seven games in his Brown career, and didn’t
see the ice at all last season. In 2009-10, he played in four games and saw
178:56 of ice time. He gave up 11 goals on 99 shots for a sub-par .889 save
percentage, while allowing an average of 3.63 goals per game. However, he made
just one start, and five of the 11 goals were given up against Colgate, so this
is clearly an example of statistical bias.
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| Anthony Borelli '13 is a huge question mark going into the 2012-2013 season. Can he usurp junior Marco De Filippo at the top of the goaltending pecking order? Photo credit to brownbears.com, the Official Site of Brown Athletics |
In 2010-11, Borelli saw action in three games for a
total of 77:56. He allowed just three goals on 35 shots, good for a .914 save
percentage and a 2.31 GAA. However, before we go ahead and crown him the next Yann
Danis, let’s take into account that he played the equivalent of just under four
periods of hockey throughout the entire season. Also, he did not play for a
second in 2011-12. It would appear as though Borelli will back up De Filippo,
given the fact that he has rarely played over the past three years. De Filippo also
quickly overtook him as the second-string goalie behind Mike Clemente.
There are some questions marks going into this
season (mainly revolving around goaltending and how the bottom three defensemen
will pan out, and who they are, for that matter), but I like our youth and I
think we have a good shot at home ice in the playoffs.
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